The worst storm in decades claims one life

KONG-RAY:
A woman died in her car when it crashed into a tree and 205 people were injured as the hurricane crossed the country and entered the Taiwan Strait.

• Staff writer, collaborates with agencies

Typhoon Kong-ray hit Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the country in decades, sending up 10-metre waves, causing flooding and claiming at least one life.

Kong-rei made landfall in Chenggong Township (成功), Taitung County, at 1:40 p.m., according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

The typhoon – the first to make landfall in Taiwan since mid-October – was moving north-northwest at 21 km/h when it made landfall, according to the CWA.

Photo: CNA

The fast-moving storm had maximum sustained winds of 184 km/h with gusts up to 227 km/h, according to the CWA.

It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which became the most powerful storm to hit Taiwan in eight years when it made landfall in July, but Kong-rei’s 320 km radius made it the strongest in nearly three decades.

The storm weakened to a “moderate typhoon” with wind speeds of nearly 155 km/h as it swept over the Central Mountain Range, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said.

Photo: CNA

By 6:40 p.m., the storm’s eye had crossed the Taiwan Strait west of Mailiao Township (麥寮) in Yunlin County, although its wind radius still covered all of Taiwan, as well as Penghu, Kinmen and Lianjiang counties, CWA said.

Taiwan is expected to move out of the wind’s range by early morning, although it is still expected to affect Linjiang County as it heads north-northeast across the Taiwan Strait, the agency said.

A foreign woman died in Nantou County when a falling tree hit her truck on Provincial Highway 14A, near Renai Township (仁愛) around 1 p.m.

Photo: Cheng I-hwa, AFP

After hitting the roof of the truck, first responders found the 76-year-old male driver, surnamed Lin (林), with his legs pinned to the steering wheel, although he was able to climb into the ambulance after being freed, authorities said. said.

However, a 56-year-old woman sitting in the passenger seat suffered out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to her injuries, authorities said.

The woman was pronounced dead yesterday afternoon.

Photo courtesy of Hualien Fire Department.

Officials did not indicate her nationality.

Two Czech tourists went missing after entering Taroko National Park in Hualien County but were later found.

As of 8:00 pm last night, the typhoon had injured 205 people across the country, the Central Emergency Operations Center said, adding that 9,658 people had been evacuated and 91 shelters had been set up in 12 administrative regions, sheltering 1,822 people.

Photo: Liao Chen-hui, Taipei Times

According to the center, 3,688 incidents involving downed trees and other damage were reported last night, of which 1,917 were cleared last night, mainly in Taoyuan, Kaohsiung, Hualien and Taitung.

The floods affected 34 areas – 17 in Hualien and 14 in Yilan county, it said, adding that 137,000 homes were without electricity.

By evening, 763.5 mm of rain had fallen in Yilan County, 750 mm in Hualien County and 653 mm in the mountainous areas of Taichung, said Lin Po-tung (林伯東), director of the CWA Forecast Center.

Winds of force 17 on the Beaufort scale (more than 200 km/h) were recorded on the Green (綠島) and Orchid (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) islands, and winds of up to force 16 were recorded in the south of Hualien County, northern Taitung County and Penghu County on a scale. – said Lin.

Hualien County has experienced “very serious” flooding and rescue efforts and evacuations are still ongoing, said Wang Ming-zhong, chief of the county’s fire department.

“We also deal with cases of signs falling on people and trees falling on roads,” Wang said.

Some mountain communities in Taiwan canceled classes and work for a second day, but most areas announced a return to work and school.

More than 400 domestic and international flights were cancelled, all ferry services were suspended and more than 250,000 homes were left without power.

Rainfall in the week to date could top 1 million in the worst-hit areas of the east coast as the monsoon also inundated the country earlier in the week.

Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert scheduled for last night at the Taipei Arena has been postponed until noon tomorrow due to the typhoon, his agency said this afternoon.

Anyone unable to attend the rescheduled event can receive a full refund with service fees waived, but tickets cannot be transferred to others, event organizer SuperDome (超級圓頂) said.

Refund requests must be accepted by 11:59 pm on Wednesday next week, it said.